Lt. Thomas D. Armory Square; Dartmouth Street and Commonwealth Avenue
At the very basis of the behavior of urban development, and thus the constructs and constraints of its design and behavior is nature itself; the very environment on which a city is developed dictates the way man-made constructs placed there behave. By nature, the laws of the natural world govern, empirically, the behavior of the buildings themselves with regards to mechanics, chemistry, etc. The effects of natural processes are, however, an often overlooked, but ever-present machine in the background of an urban space. Not only are pedestrians often blind to the long and short term effects of the natural world on an environment which may seem to be removed from nature, but urban planners and developers may also occasionally overlook the potential effects.
The region of Boston’s Back Bay bounded by Dartmouth, Clarendon, and St. James Street, and the Charles River Esplanade is clearly subject to the effects of water damage due to its proximity to the Charles River and the physical history of the region.The Back Bay was once completely occupied by water and mudflats, and was developed as a massive project of filled land to expand the city, as was much of the rest of the city of Boston (The expansion of Boston can be seen in Bill Rankin's 'Boston Figure/Ground') . The land-fill was largely contributed to by trash, moved earth, and whatever happened to be conveniently available, making the ground there often irregular, porous, or soft. It takes a great deal of control to override the natural tendencies of a given environment; so it is unsurprising that this effort would be unable to withstand, completely, the processes of water damage in the long-term. As would be expected, there is a clear gradient to the evidence of water damage, with frequency decreasing moving away from the Charles River. Starting at the very edge of the Charles River Esplanade, at the bank of the River, the most extreme examples are evident. The ground/soil of the Esplanade itself is unusually wet and exhibits higher frequency of puddling than in the areas surrounding; it is notable here that these observations, as well as all following, were made during late February in a period of heavy snow melt. However, it is likely that the melting water from surrounding areas flows towards the Charles and collects here, but it is unable to drain properly due to the saturation of the soil in this area.
Above: Puddling along the Esplanade; Below: Tilted stone bench and unusual tree growth along the water
This is also evidenced by the stone benches lining the Esplanade, which tend to be tilted, likely due to the soft, wet, ground. A great proportion of the trees along the Esplanade are tilted, with the frequency and degree of tilt increasing with proximity to the water. Some very unusual growth patterns are observable in the trees that grow in this area, the trunks become nearly horizontal in some cases with the branches of the trees bending towards the water as well, resulting in higher density as well as length and size of branches on the side of the tree nearest to the water. It appears, in some cases, in which the branches grow parallel to the trunk so that the tree looks like a normal tree that has simply been bent over to run parallel to the water, that the tree began growth normally, straight up, but began to, by processes of erosion, etc due to the flow of the river along the bank, lean in towards the water. This is likely due the earth in which its roots anchored beginning to erode and slide in towards the water while the tree continued to grow straight up from the current location of the trunk; however, because soil it anchored to was slowly shifting over and down, it resulted in a tree with a trunk bent towards the water. In other trees the branches grow down so close to the water as to almost touch, but have very few, stunted branches on the side opposite, as described previously. This pattern of growth, initially a bit puzzling, seemed to resemble the growth of marsh trees. Upon researching images of marsh trees, the very same growth pattern was very clearly manifested. As such, this type of growth is likely typical of areas near to a body of water, whether it is a product of soil erosion on the direction of the trees’ growth or a combination of other factors.
Above: Horizontal tree growth; Below: Water damage along the Esplanade
The stone constructions on the Esplanade similarly manifest the consequences/damages of water. One of the sets of substantial, stone steps leading down to the water is significantly cracked and broken with large pieces actually missing or shifted noticeably out of place. The force required to do this degree of damage suggests that this was likely the result of freezing water which expanded in the cracks in, or in-between, the steps, breaking off large chunks of stone from the larger body of the steps. The soft ground on the bank of the water would then provide very little support to the isolated blocks, causing them to sag, shift, and tilt. The grasses that have grown up between the cracks can only have helped to emphasize the severity of the cracks, widening the gaps in the stone. Although the severity of damage in some instances, the triangular block with legs each about a foot wide missing from the corner, may seem to point to additional factors, human or otherwise, the scope of the damage is still plausible within the range of potential damage from natural processes such as water expansion. Moreover, it is notable here that the large missing piece was in fact on a corner, making it much easier, and much more likely, to fracture and break off from the larger body of the stairs. The stone balustrade also shows signs of water damage; one face of the end post seems to have fallen off, with traces of water flow through the internal support.
Above: Water damage to the balustrade; Below: Damage to the west side of the steps
It is possible that water from precipitation may have drained into cracks in the post and then caused a similar set of circumstances to those of the steps. Both the damage to the balustrade and the steps is noticeably isolated to one side of the steps in this case, with relatively minor instances of damage on the western side of the steps. In a similar vein, the stone bridge connecting the two main landmasses of the Esplanade exhibits analogous signs of wear. All along the arc that forms the edges of the bridge’s underside were small, but very distinct, stalactite-like formations. A light, mineral trail revealed the path of water flow preceding its collection along the arcs.
Mineral deposits along the bridge
At the base of the bridge, where it meets the water, the flow of water over the mineral deposits stops and drips down, creating ripples which propagate into the base; it is right at this point that there are noticeable cracks and a chunk of rock missing from the base of the bridge.
Damage to bridge
Due to the rough, slightly pebbled, texture of the bridge here, instances of draining water likely follow similar paths through the ridges, which, over an extended period time, could make the stone vulnerable to cracking. Besides these major signs of damage are numerous, less extreme, instances of water damage such as the rust and peeling paint typical of most cities; however, as a result of the presence of a major body of water right along the city, these effects must be taken into consideration and accounted for in choice of materials and other processes of design. It seemed surprising, therefore, to come across so many homes with copper gutters, all of which were heavily oxidized and often rusted to the point of weakened structural integrity.
Copper drain
Moving away from the Esplanade, across Storrow Drive to Back Street, one encounters the very edge of the brownstone residences. Even here the city is subject to the consequences of highly saturated soil; a number of the garages coming off the back of the brownstones are noticeably skewed and tilted, seeming to sink and sag into one another.
Above: Sagging buildings on Back Street; Below: Pulling away from the sidewalk
As far as Beacon Street, the walkways or stairs leading down to the front doors of the brownstones have broken away and sunk down from the sidewalk in many cases. However, the gradient of damage caused by water begins to weaken here and the signs of the city’s effect on the natural world become increasingly dominant.
The plant life in the city is forced to adapt to the presence of buildings and limited space, leading to some unusual growth. In one case, a tree planted right alongside a brick wall, obviously unable to extend on the side of the wall, grew branches only on one half of its trunk. In a few other cases, the trees had a bit more space along a wall, and so would shoot off branches in all directions, which would, upon reaching the wall, be forced to grow straight up.
Unusual tree growth and vine growing around shadows
Some trees exhibited a similar growth pattern, with all the branches extending vertically and very little radial growth; however, in these cases, this growth was not restricted to one side of the tree. It seemed more likely here that these trees, often in-between buildings, were growing up and out of the shadow of the surrounding structures to gain greater access to sunlight. It is also very common to see trees leaning out and away from buildings and their shadows, resulting in lines of trees tilting in towards the street. In some of the trunks of these trees an upward twisting patter in visible, as if the tree was continually rotating upwards as it grew, trying to uncover the side that was currently shaded by the buildings. Vines and other climbing plants provide particularly clear examples of the effects of the buildings’ shadows on plant life, often growing up and around buildings to avoid shadows. In one case, the lower bound of a particular vine’s growth was very clearly along the edge of the evening shadows of the surrounding buildings. In contrast, some cases of urban plant growth are not so passive to the obstructions of the urban environment. Throughout the city there are many instances of trees which have broken through the boundaries of the space allotted to them, even breaking through stone and brick. In one notable instance, the roots of a tree had grown up through the brick at the edge of its plot, and even caused a large ripple in the brick above the radius of its network of roots.
Tree growth vs brick sidewalk
A similar pattern in the brick is observable just a few meters away; however, this long ripple in the brick is surprisingly straight and regular, extending on a diagonal from the edge of the street to the edge of the face of the buildings along the other edge of the sidewalk. It is possible that this is also due to the roots of the surrounding trees, or even possible a water or sewage line underneath the sidewalk. There are a number of other strange patterns in the brick within this same block along Dartmouth Street, between Commonwealth Avenue and Marlborough Street. On the corner of Marlborough and Dartmouth is a grate which is set into an area of brick which seems to have lifted up out of the ground, potentially as a result of expansion due to the heat from the vent/grate.
Long, regular ripple in brick and raised brick around grate
The First Baptist Church, located at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Clarendon Street is of particular interest with regards to the effects of natural processes. Except for its tower, along which the growth of a climbing vine extends the entirety of its height, the stone of the church walls is largely unblemished.
Mottled, vine-covered wall and unblemished wall
However, upon first sight of the building as a whole, it was noticeable that the stone of the tower seemed to be mottled, and much darker, than the stone on the rest of the building. Upon further observation, the presence of this darker hue seemed consistent with the presence of the vines. It then seemed likely that this mottling was simply due to the stone being quite porous and thus visibly retaining water. The presence of the vines would likely contribute to those areas of the building retaining greater moisture than those without plant growth. Upon walking around the building, further evidence supported this hypothesis. Two gutters, one very large, were located so as to direct water onto a slanted section of roof just above the face of the building which lined up with the sidewalk along Clarendon Street; on the wall directly below was a very distinct trail of the same dark color running vertically from the roof to the ground. If the presence of the darkened stone is in fact due to it retaining water, then it would make sense that the stone here would become wet as water drained off the roof. In general, the design of water-drainage systems around the church seemed to be poorly located. One gutter drained straight onto a set of steps, which were clearly damaged and cracked due to water damage.
Above: Water drainage off the roof; Below: Gutter drainage onto steps
If the presence of the darkened stone is in fact due to it retaining water, then it would make sense that the stone here would become wet as water drained off the roof. In general, the design of water-drainage systems around the church seemed to be poorly located. One gutter drained straight onto a set of steps, which were clearly damaged and cracked due to water damage. Similarly, the section of roof described above which caught the water flow out of the two drains was made of copper and, unsurprisingly due to the large quantity of water flowing along it, appeared to be quite rusted.
Copley Square proved to be interesting as well in regards to water drainage. The paving was very clearly wet in the area surrounding the fountain right along the edge of the square off of Boylston Street. In class Professor Spirn mentioned that while Copley Square was being built, water was stored in a reservoir to ensure that when construction was finished, the ground-water level would come up above the wooden pilings that formed the support of many of the buildings, preventing them from rotting. It is possible that this fountain is not only meant to add to the aesthetic or recreational value of the square, but also to funnel water back into the ground to keep the water level high enough to cover these pilings. A sign on the structure indicated that “this fountain recirculates water” and that water is not wasted.
Water collects along the grass and near the fountain
Clearly, the signs of natural processes on the urban environment are not at all hidden, although they may not be readily evident. These processes are ubiquitous and inescapable even when measures are taken against them. Awareness of the consequences of water damage, erosion, and other natural processes is therefore critical in urban development. The city itself, including the buildings, is an entity of the natural world and engages in dynamic interactions with the man-made world and its inhabitants.
Map and Observations: pink=residential, purple=commercial, gold=historical, green=recreational, blue=Charles River
Works Cited:
Spirn, Anne Whiston. The Granite Garden: Urban Nature and Human Design. New York: Basic, 1984. Print
Clay, Grady. Close-up. How to Read the American City. New York: Praeger, 1974. Print.
Krieger, Alex, David A. Cobb, Amy Turner, and David C. Bosse. Mapping Boston. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1999. Print.
Newman, William A., and Wilfred E. Holton. Boston's Back Bay: The Story of America's Greatest Nineteenth-century Landfill Project. Boston: Northeastern UP, 2006. Print.
"Radicalcartography." Radicalcartography. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.Spirn, Anne Whiston. The Granite Garden: Urban Nature and Human Design. New York: Basic, 1984. Print.